Corey Maggette was trying to start his new life in the Bay Area when the remnants of the life he left behind began spinning out of control.

He could’ve just let it blow over, introduced himself to his new team and moved on quietly.

“But I just couldn’t hear what people were saying about Elton (Brand),” Maggette told the Daily Breeze on Saturday afternoon.

“Anybody who knows Elton knows he’s a stand-up guy. He’s got character. And I just don’t want people to come out of this situation thinking he’s a bad guy.

“I don’t know everything that went on with EB, but I know EB, and he says they made him feel disrespected, something obviously happened.”

What exactly happened is still a matter of opinion, and both sides have aired out the dispute in public over the last week.

Elton Brand, Maggette’s teammate with the Clippers the last seven years, had stunned the NBA by signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Clippers said they were shocked. Brand said he felt disrespected.

For the better part of two days, both sides had offered their version of events to anyone who would listen. Sports talk radio was all over it. Some thought Brand had gone back on his word. Others surmised the Clippers had blown the negotiations.

Back and forth they went. Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy produced text messages as evidence Brand had gone back on a verbal agreement.

Brand’s agent, David Falk, railed that the Clippers had negotiated behind his back.

It was all so juicy that when Maggette, the Clippers leading scorer last season, signed with the Golden State Warriors on the same day, it became almost a footnote in the day’s news cycle.

Brand repeatedly always had been known as the NBA’s good guy. A prince to everyone he met, humble and hard-working. So it was difficult to recast him in any other light. Even Dunleavy had a hard time with it.

“It was uncharacteristic of EB,” Dunleavy said. “I love Elton. I wish him nothing but the best. … If he wanted to leave, I wish he would’ve just told me though.”

Maggette heard it all and has come up with his own opinion.

“I’ve got Elton’s back. I know what kind of guy he is. Bottom line is, when you feel like you’re wanted, that’s where you want to be,” Maggette said. “Elton wanted to be there in L.A. But he just felt like they didn’t treat him right. He was supposed to be their franchise player. But from what he told me, it seemed like they made him feel like they didn’t care either way.

“He should be a Clipper right now. It should’ve never got to that.

“Look at Washington and Antawn Jamison. They said they wanted him, and they gave him a new deal right away. The first day. Then right after, they did the same with Arenas. That’s what should’ve happened.”

Like Brand, Maggette opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers on June 30. When he did so though, Maggette said the club had led him to believe it wanted him back.

Statements by Dunleavy in the past week seem to corroborate that. Dunleavy said that the team’s original plan was to re-sign both Brand and Maggette and make a push for Sacramento point guard Beno Udrih. As such, Dunleavy was in New York at 12:01 a.m. (EST) meeting with Udrih.

But things changed when Baron Davis opted out of his contract with the Warriors late in the night on June 30. As soon as Davis became available, the Clippers went after him. Brand, Dunleavy said, led the way.

“Elton led the way with it,” Dunleavy said. “He called Baron and recruited him.”

He also apparently called Maggette.

“Elton called me to tell me about the situation with Baron Davis and asked if (I) wanted to be in it, and I did,” Maggette said. “I really thought all three of us could be with the Clippers, and with that, we could’ve won a championship. I wanted to be there. I talked to Baron myself.”

Financially, it’s not clear how that could’ve worked out as all three players command salaries between $10 million to $14 million a season.

Maggette acknowledged as much.

“It only lasted like a minute. I could tell I wasn’t in (the Clippers) plans.” Maggette said. “It was hard, you know. Because I thought they wanted me back. I’d done a lot in L.A. But I could tell I wasn’t in their plans.

“Then Golden State jumped in, made me feel real comfortable and that they really wanted me to be there.”

Maggette said that he doesn’t harbor ill will for the Clippers. That he’s only trying to stick up for Brand, who has taken a considerable amount of heat for signing with the 76ers.

“We loved the fans in L.A. They gave us so much over the years,” Maggette said. “Both of us wanted to come back, and both of us should still be there. If it would’ve been handled differently, we would’ve.”